Clary IllianEly, Iowa

Biography

Clary Illian is a potter who lives in Ely, Iowa. She apprenticed at Leach Pottery in England from 1964-65. Hewing to the Leach philosophy, her subsequent work concentrated on the purity of the pot’s form and the potter’s life – one lived with strong convictions and a pure heart.

Illian is the author of "A Potter's Workbook," published in 2003. Her fifty-year retrospective was held at Cedar Rapids Museum in 2012-2013. She occasionally travels to teach workshops and continues to produce useful daily pottery for local customers in her Iowa studio, though rarely sends it out for exhibitions.